‘I’m so happy it’s back’: This once-closed Johnson County Italian restaurant returns
If the line out the door is any indication, fans are excited John Avelluto’s restaurant is back.
Italian Delight by Avelluto closed at 6522 Martway St. in Mission in 2021 after decades of serving customers. This month, Avelluto reopened his restaurant just a few blocks away, in the old d’Bronx location at 6846 Johnson Drive.
This time, it’s called Avelluto’s Pizzeria & Ristorante. But don’t worry, it’s still serving the same calzones, pizza and pasta dishes customers love and remember.
“There’s other pizzas you can get around here that are good, but it’s like having a child. Yours is always going to be the best,” Avelluto told The Star earlier this year.
Darlene Maybe was one of several waiting for a carryout order Friday. She lined up just after it opened at 11 a.m.
Friday was her birthday, she told The Star. She’s 59, and what better way to celebrate than picking up lunch at Avelluto’s?
“I’ve been eating their pizza and calzones forever,” Maybe said. “I love it.”
The owner’s father, Joseph Avelluto, founded Italian Delight in 1977 in the old Indian Springs Shopping Center in Kansas City, Kansas. He opened the Martway location in 1983, and John jumped into the business.
Later, Joseph split with his business partner and kept the Martway location. His partner kept the KCK spot, which is now at 8145 State Ave.
Joseph has been out of the restaurant business since the early 2000s, but John said his father is excited his legacy will live on at the new location.
The Martway spot closed partly due to COVID, but John has been eager to begin serving customers again.
“It’s gonna feel like you’re in a place in Italy or on the East Coast somewhere,” he previously said.
Some items on the menu: meatball sandwiches ($11), stromboli ($7), lasagna ($12) and eggplant Parmigiana ($10) — that’s the favorite of one of the customers in line Friday.
Pizzas include the Margherita and Pizza Alla Puttanesca (capers, olives, red onions and anchovies). Both are $24 for a medium, $26 for a large. For dessert, tiramisu and cannolis.
Tables with white, lacy tablecloths fill the dining room.
Justin Iedenis, Frank Enright and Pat Phelan sat around a high top Friday afternoon and chatted while waiting for their pickup order to be brought out.
“This is great,” Enright said. “I’m so happy it’s back.”
A buddy of theirs went twice in one day right after it opened, Enright said.
“He’s from Jersey City, so he’s like, ‘This is the closest we got goin,’” he said. “It’s good stuff.”
The Other Place, a bar and grill, opened in the 6522 Martway St. spot in December. D’Bronx still has one location left at 7070 W. 105th St. in Overland Park.
Avelluto’s is open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays and 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.
